GOOGLE CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL LOAN APPS IN AFRICA AFTER INDIA

Sat 19 November 2022:

Loan apps in Kenya are required by Google to provide evidence of their operating permits in the country, or they risk being taken down from the Google Play store.

TechCrunch claims that Google’s action was required to safeguard borrowers from predatory lending apps, many of which charge borrowers high interest rates and violate regulatory restrictions.

“Developers with personal loan apps targeting Kenyan users must complete [a] declaration form and submit the necessary documentation before publishing their personal loan app a Personal loan apps operating in Kenya without proper declaration and license attribution will be removed from the Play Store,” Google said in a policy update.

New and existing loan applications in Kenya are now expected to submit the required documents and information by the end of January next year, following similar actions in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the report said.

Google announced in May that it would require personal loan apps in India to provide additional proof of eligibility.

A copy of their RBI license and a declaration that they are not directly engaged in money lending activities and are only providing a platform to facilitate money lending by registered Non-Banking Financial Companies or banks to users are required for eligibility.

Meanwhile, after consulting with law enforcement agencies, Google removed over 2,000 controversial personal loan apps from its Play Store between January and June.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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